Sen. McCaskill Calls for Sen. Franken's Resignation

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri is among a growing list of Democratic U.S. Senators calling for the resignation of Minnesota Sen. Al Franken. With Franken's position appearing increasingly untenable, his office issued a statement saying, "Senator Franken will be making an announcement tomorrow. More details to come." In addition to McCaskill, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., all called on Franken to step down. Several Democratic men joined them. The demands came in rapid succession after Franken on Wednesday vehemently denied a new sexual misconduct accusation that came from a former Democratic congressional aide, who said he tried to forcibly kiss her after a taping of his radio show in 2006. Franken said in a statement that the allegation, reported by Politico, was "categorically not true." The woman, who was not identified, said Franken pursued her after her boss had left and she was collecting her belongings. She said she ducked to avoid his lips, and that Franken told her: "It's my right as an entertainer." Franken, in his statement, said the idea he would claim such conduct as a right as an entertainer was "preposterous." Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wrote on Facebook that while Franken is entitled to have the Ethics Committee conclude its review, "I believe it would be better for our country if he sent a clear message that any kind of mistreatment of women in our society isn't acceptable by stepping aside to let someone else serve." In a tweet on Wednesday, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said: "I expect that Senator Franken will announce his resignation tomorrow." Wyden tweeted that "It is the right thing to do given this series of serious allegations."